A vote to rename five Austin ISD campuses associated with Confederate soldiers and government officials will be delayed to allow for more time to consider the policies and processes surrounding the decision.

The Austin ISD board of trustees decided at its regular meeting Monday to postpone a scheduled Feb. 26 vote to rename the schools.

In November, the board began discussions about renaming the buildings, which include Zachary Taylor Fulmore Middle School, Sidney Lanier Early College High School, John H. Reagan Early College High School, Eastside Memorial Early College High School at the Albert Sidney Johnston campus and the John T. Allan facility.

Although the general consensus among trustees remained in favor of renaming the campuses, several trustees expressed doubts over the policies dictating the choice of schools included on the list. Not only did the decision appear to be made from the top down, they said, but other campuses named after other questionable figures are not up for debate, and many wondered why.

"Where I’m still troubled is that [the choice of schools] feels incomplete and somewhat arbitrary," trustee Yasmin Wagner said. "We’ve had conversations about the rebel mascot, but not the maroon mascot; this seems very lacking in terms of having a comprehensive conversation. Not really having that clear methodology of why or how we change a name beyond a very high-level policy makes it a bit troubling for me to start embarking on this path."

Board President Kendall Pace also felt trustees were not adequately prepared for a February vote since documentation of feedback from campus advisory committees was missing from their agenda packets.

"I appreciate the work that has been done but now it needs to be synthesized," she said. "That’s a major piece. We asked for community input, and it’s not in here."

Trustees requested administration return to the drawing board and develop a firm methodology explaining how schools are chosen for renaming. Board members will then vote to approve the refined policy at a later date.